What's In It For Your Clients/Patients and You

Updated:Jul 2,2015

Clients/patients already come to you for advice on how to make better food choices. You want to offer them a plan that is simple and straightforward.

There are thousands of products to choose from and countless health and nutrition messages in the average supermarket. That’s why the American Heart Association created an easy way to help people see through the clutter on grocery store shelves and find foods that can be part of a healthy dietary pattern.

Reasons to Make Heart-Check a Part of Your Practice

If you asked your clients/patients to make a list of their top health goals, eating better probably would top the list. Teaching them how to change their eating habits — and motivating them to stick with those changes — can be challenging.

Here’s why the Heart-Check program works:

Backed by science-based nutrition criteria. Sound science is the foundation of the Heart-Check program. When you see the Heart-Check mark on a food package, you can trust that the food meets the American Heart Association’s requirements for certification. The Heart-Check nutrition requirements were developed in consultation with association medical volunteers and leading nutrition experts and are based on AHA scientific statements and recommendations, including:

Healthy in the real world. Foods and nutrients of public health concern were taken into account when developing Heart-Check nutrition requirements. The requirements positively impact overall diet quality and promote nutrient adequacy and moderation goals. Additionally, Heart-Check nutrition requirements take food science and the role of ingredients in producing a quality product into consideration since we understand that certain ingredients serve functional purposes, such as leavening in bread.

Validated by research. Food modeling data demonstrate that a greater consumption (as percentage of total calories) of foods that meet AHA Heart-Check program nutrition requirements is associated with better diet quality and lower cardiovascular disease risk.

Meets consumers where they make food choices. The Heart-Check mark is there when your clients/patients need it – at the grocery store and at select restaurants. The American Heart Association is there in other ways, too, such as in-store identification of foods bearing the Heart-Check mark and health and wellness promotions nationwide.

Quick and simple. The required Nutrition Facts label on food packaging is unequivocally important, but it is also dense with numbers and can intimidate newly health-conscious shoppers. There’s no learning curve with the Heart-Check mark. That’s because the Heart-Check mark represents a “bundling” of criteria based on the food category. This usually includes total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and beneficial nutrients that are important in determining if a food can be part of an overall healthy dietary pattern. Learn more about How the Heart-Check mark integrates Nutrition Facts.

Recognized and trusted. Shoppers trust the Heart-Check mark on packaging more than other nutrition icons, according to a 2012 American Heart Association consumer research study. The study also showed that eight out of 10 shoppers are already familiar with the Heart-Check mark. That means your clients/patients are likely to be very receptive when you advise them to choose Heart-Check certified products. Plus, shoppers associate the Heart-Check mark with both heart health and overall health.

Time-saving and confidence-boosting. Instead of spending valuable time researching specific brands, give your clients/patients a straightforward tactic for healthy eating. In your counseling sessions, you can use the handouts in this toolkit to keep them shopping and cooking their way to a healthier lifestyle.

Growing and expanding. A growing number of food manufacturers are reformulating their products — and even creating new ones — to meet Heart-Check nutrition requirements. That means more heart-healthy options for your clients/patients.

*All health/medical information on this website has been reviewed and approved by the American Heart Association, based on scientific research and American Heart Association guidelines. Use this link for more information on our content editorial process.